Running Late? Here Are 3 Simple Things To Do At The Bus Terminal

You missed your alarm. You woke up to the discovery that you’re heading for a bus travel catastrophe. Leaping out of your covers, you hurry to the bathroom for a shower, slip into your outfit for the day and skip your routined morning coffee to save time. Luckily, you’ve packed your luggage the night before and your Grab ride happened to show up in a jiffy.

Your ride goes smoothly with no traffic to hinder your journey and in a blink of an eye, you’ve arrived at the bus terminal. Overcame with anxiety amidst the chaos, your mind goes blank, you are hit by a sudden cluelessness — with only 15 minutes left! 

“What do you do???”

DON’T PANIC! Here’s ALL you need to do that guarantees you can ‘catch your bus’ in the knick of time.

#1 Check your ticket

Most established bus terminal like Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) and Melaka Sentral require you to exchange your ticket for a boarding pass as they are governed by a Centralised Ticketing System (CTS) whereas, some allow you to simply show your e-ticket. 

Your bus ticket can definitely make or break the whole journey. Forgetting to print the ticket may result in extra time spent trying to find a way to get it printed.

When you book with CatchThatBus, you would find a very specific instruction at the top of your ticket. With this, you will know your next course of action even before you reach the terminal. Given your details are correct, this should take about 5 minutes.

#2 Ask for directions

Usually, after attaining your boarding pass, the staff will direct you to your respective departure halls. In cases where they don’t — you can always ask.

Be vigilant of the signs around you as you navigate through the terminal to the departure hall. Remember, a wrong turn could be disastrous if you need to track back all the way.

#3 Double-check the details

After jostling around a crowded terminal, you should arrive at the departure hall with only minutes to spare. Your boarding pass should state the gate number your departure will commence, and although the directions provided by staff may be correct, it never hurts to double-check with another staff to ensure that you’ve got the right gate at the departure hall. 

There will also be an LCD screen in that hall that states the details of your departure including the departure gate, bus operator, departure time and more. This helps avoid any error that may cost you a whole lot of inconvenience. 

Now that everything is in place, congratulations, you’ve made it in time.

 

There you have it! Recite it religiously as you approach your travel date and you’ll be a  last-minute bus boarding expert in no time (although we do not encourage such practices 😉)

P.S: Most of the time, the buses are punctual. Hence, we at CatchThatBus strongly advise our bus travellers to arrive at the departure points 15 – 30 minutes earlier for a smooth travel experience.

 

Featured Photo Credit: Dribbble